FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT UNBANKED - PAGE 4

KOLKATA & GUWAHATI: State Bank of India (SBI) has promised a big-bang financial inclusion drive this year. After inaugurating 154 branches and 2,151 automated teller machines simultaneously on Sunday from Jangipur -- from where finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is elected for Lok Sabha --SBI chairman OP Bhatt announced a stellar plan to roll out banking services in 50,000 unbanked villages by March 2010. The statement assumes significance as the banking sector as a whole is chasing a stiff target of reaching out to all 1.07 lakh unbanked villages having population over 2,000 by 2011.

MUMBAI: For every Rs.100 that a prospective applicant (for new banking license) wants to lend, he will have to lend Rs.40 to small farmers, students or low cost home borrowers and entrepreneurs, at par with the existing norms for existing banks. According to the latest guidelines for licensing on new banks in the private sector, Reserve Bank of India mandates the applicants to build their portfolio for lending to priority sector that includes education, agriculture(direct and indirect lending)

NEW DELHI: With the mobile subscriber base touching the 150-million mark, operators are now planning to revolutionise rural remittances through mobile banking. Through this, a daily wage earner in a metro city will be able to remit small amounts (Rs 50, Rs 100 or Rs 500) to his relatives in his village through a local mobile retail outlet. However, such a vision will come true in India only once the regulatory approval for money transfer on mobile phones is there, although the technology is there and it is happening in some other countries.

Dattaram, 50, earns Rs 9,000 a month doing domestic chores in three to four homes in a Mumbai neighbourhood. He sends most of his earnings to his wife and two children living in a village near Ratnagiri. The money takes a complicated route to reach his family. First, it reaches his brother, who also lives in Mumbai. His brother despatches the money through people from his community who travel to his village. At times, a few hundreds go missing, but Dattaram is reluctant to open a bank account.

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India today issued the much-awaited guidelines for new bank licences, allowing corporates and public sector entities with sound credentials and a minimum track record of 10 years to enter the banking business. The Reserve Bank, which has laid down an elaborate 'fit and proper' criteria, has not excluded any category like brokerages, real estate companies from entering into the banking space as has been advocated by the Finance Ministry. The final guidelines pave the way for corporate houses like Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Larsen & Toubro, Tatas, Mahindra and Mahindra, Life Insurance Corporation and Aditya Birla Group to enter the banking business.

It's a personal loan, a recurring deposit and a kitty party rolled into one. A chit fund means many things to many people. For someone seeking a loan, it is a source of costly, but convenient, credit. For the small saver, it is an option that enforces monthly investment discipline. And for the unbanked rural investor, it is a crucial step towards financial inclusion. Unfortunately, chit funds are also used by fly-bynight operators to defraud semi-literate investors. The uncovering of the Saradha scam unleashed a media blitzkrieg against chit funds.

KOLKATA: Bandhan Bank has roped in former chief economic advisor to the finance ministry Ashok Kumar Lahiri to head its 10-member board and stuffed as many as four former top bank executives in the board aiming to raise its stake in the bottom of the pyramid customers even as the established ones from State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are in a race to have more customers from the unbanked population. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh , the founder of Bandhan Financial Services which started as a mirco finance institution in 2001, will be the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank.

By Rajat Gandhi Ever since India's independence in 1947, the biggest priority for the nation has been its economic growth, education for all and financial inclusion for the vast population of the country. While India has made some noteworthy progress in the past six decades and more, but on the aspect of financial inclusion, progress has not been satisfactory. Along with the regulation of the banking sector in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been also spearheading the movement for financial inclusion.

The interest rate of the revamped KVP is lower than that offered by other fixed income products. However, there are other advantages like greater liquidity and ease of investment. The new Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) offers 8.7% interest, which is 30 basis points higher than what its earlier avatar offered. But experts doubt if the relaunched KVP will generate interest among urban investors. "There are many fixed income products that offer higher returns compared with the new KVP," says Delhi-based tax consultant Surya Bhatia.

NEW DELHI: Bandhan Financial Services, the first microfinance institution in the country to win a bank licence, is also one of the youngest entities to be allowed to enter the banking space. The Reserve Bank of India today granted "in-principle" approval for banking licences to infrastructure financing firm IDFC and Bandhan from among 25 applicants, including corporate heavyweights ADAG Group , Aditya Birla Group and Bajaj Group . Bandhan was the only microfinance institution that applied for a banking licence.